Sports Category

Posted On February 10, 2014By Ascher RobbinsIn Sports, Sports Takes

The 5 Most Badass Sports in the Winter Olympics

Now that the 2014 Olympics are in full-swing, you might have some decisions to make. Between the live-streams on NBC Sports Live Extra, the coverage on NBC, and still more coverage on the NBC Sports Channel, it can be a little overwhelming when deciding what events you want to watch. But, I’ll make it easy for you. If you’re like me – which, let’s be honest, you should be – you only want to watch the sports that make you go “HOLY BALLS! That was SO badass!” Ain’t nobody gotRead More
This weekend was dominated by Brits and Seahawks. Massive forehands and aggressive blitzes. Beating the favored team and… beating the favored team, in both cases. In tennis, Great Britain took the Davis Cup tie over the United States with only one player ranking inside the top 100. How? They hit the ball really really hard. On Friday, James Ward shocked the crowd at Petco Park by defeating the much higher ranked Sam Querrey. The match that needed to be won by the United States was lost, and there was noRead More
Eww. That was one horrible, one-sided, bore of a football game we were all forced to endure on Sunday. Super Bowl XLVIII, for all its hype and seemingly endless storylines, straight-up flatlined. It took all of 12 seconds and one offensive snap for the Broncos to be on their heels and the Seahawks to be on the attack. And after Manny Ramirez‘s errant snap fluttered over Peyton Manning’s head and into the end zone for a safety, for all intents and purposes, the game was over. The writing was on theRead More
It’s finally time for the moment we’ve been waiting for since August: Super Bowl XLVIII. The Denver Broncos against Seattle Seahawks; the two teams we’ve expected to go this far from the beginning. And while I’ve already broken down the Big Game in detail in another column, I wanted to give y’all some gambling advice for Super Bowl Sunday. I’ll begin by giving you my ATS and Over/Under picks, and then you’ll get the added bonus of getting some suggestions for ridiculous prop bets you can make – such as, whatRead More
It’s that time again, when multiple American sporting events collide to make February ‘National Sports Patriotism Month’ (that’s my phrase, consider it copy written). Allow me to break down the national contests YOU should know about…   1/31-2/2 DAVIS CUP TENNIS: USA VS GREAT BRITAIN Normally I wouldn’t include this event as being something you should check out, since I am the only one in America who ever watches Davis Cup (usually by myself, in a dark room). But these are pretty special circumstances. For the first time in tennisRead More

Posted On January 28, 2014By Ascher RobbinsIn Sports, Sports Takes

Super Bowl XLVIII – Breaking Down the Matchups

Alright. So, the dust has settled, the weak have been eliminated, the Crabtrees have been insulted, the Bradys have been bested, and here we are: right where we thought we would be back in August. Broncos vs. Seahawks. The two #1 seeds. The two teams that many have thought were the class of their respective conferences since before this season began. We couldn’t possibly ask for a better matchup: the league’s #1 offense against the league’s #1 defense. The veteran, record-setting QB against the fresh, young swagger of the SeattleRead More

Posted On January 28, 2014By Brian WrayIn Sports, Sports Takes

How Stan became ‘Stan the Man’

Spaniard man vs Swiss man in a tennis match. Without saying anything else, you’re thinking of Nadal vs Federer. Well sorry to disappoint…. because the Swiss man of the moment is none other than 28 year old Stanislas Wawrinka, beating Rafael Nadal in the Australian Open final, and breaking the stranglehold of the Big 4 who have dominated tennis the past several years. So, how did he get here? What makes him so good? What is in the drinking water in Switzerland that makes people such good tennis players? Okay,Read More

Posted On January 21, 2014By Ascher RobbinsIn Sports, Sports Takes

10 Things We Learned on NFL Championship Sunday

It was one hell of a Championship Sunday. Here are ten things we learned last weekend. Check back later this week for more Super Bowl coverage! Let’s start with the game between the Broncos and Patriots. #10 – Brady vs. Manning has more to do with teams and locations than individuals. As is always the case when Peyton and Tom Terrific meet, the media focused all week on Manning v. Brady instead of Broncos v. Patriots. While everyone knows by now that Brady now holds a 10-5 record against Manning,Read More

Posted On January 17, 2014By Ascher RobbinsIn Gambling Life, Sports

AFC & NFC Championship ATS Picks

Time for the NFL’S final four. Championship Sunday. And shockingly, the four teams thought to be the best back in August are still standing. Broncos-Patriots, and Seahawks-Niners. Let’s do this. I sucked majorly last week going 0-3-1, but hey, nobody’s perfect. All of the games except for the smackdown the Patriots laid on the Colts could have easily gone the other way, as far as the spread is concerned, SO I’M OKAY WITH IT AND DON’T MAKE FUN OF ME. As always, these are not predictions on who will WIN the gamesRead More

Posted On January 16, 2014By Oliver RistowIn Sports, Sports Takes

NFL Championship Weekend Preview

It’s weekends like this upcoming one that make being a sports fan wonderful. In one game, you’ve got two of, if not THE two greatest quarterbacks of all time fighting for a chance at one more ring to help finish cementing their legacies. In the other, you’ve got two of most exciting and dynamic young quarterbacks in the game, eager to begin creating theirs. It’s also worth noting that the four remaining teams were by most accounts, the favorites to make it this far at the beginning of the season,Read More

Posted On January 11, 2014By Ascher RobbinsIn Gambling Life, Sports

NFL Divisional Playoff ATS Picks

NFL Divisional Weekend is upon us, and as we inch closer to the Super Bowl, the teams get better and the stakes get higher. Here are my predictions for a Divisional Playoff weekend full of regular season rematches. Just to be clear, these are not predictions on who will WIN the games this weekend, but rather who will cover the spread. Here are my against the spread picks for the NFL Divisional Round games. HOME TEAM is in CAPS, and lines reflect Saturday, January 10th. (Wild Card Weekend Picks: 2-1-1 ATS)  SATURDAY,Read More

Posted On January 8, 2014By Ascher RobbinsIn Sports, Sports Takes

The 2013-14 College Football Season Review

What a season it was. The SEC’s reign of BCS terror ended, as did the atrocity of the BCS itself. We had a second consecutive freshman win the Heisman Trophy, we had a 2,000 yard rusher, and we had a neat, tidy, undefeated National Champion. In the final version of the BCS, we had almost everything wrap up in a perfect, uncontroversial manner. We had the usual drama: inexplicable losses, statistically improbable victories, superstars being superstars, and everything in between. So, as we kiss a long-overdue goodbye to the BCS, andRead More
The final installment of the BCS National Championship Game could shape up to be one of the best, largely because it’s got everything you want in a great sports setting: two schools with championship pedigrees. Jimbo Fisher’s Florida State Seminoles were ranked 11th in the preseason before climbing into the top-5 in week eight and eventually overtaking Alabama (thanks to Auburn) for the top spot in week 15. The Auburn Tigers, coached by Coach of the Year Winner Gus Malzahn, could theoretically be viewed as the underdog, if it weren’tRead More

Posted On January 5, 2014By John O'NeillIn Sports, Sports Takes

Listen to the Champ

Muhammad Ali is the greatest heavyweight boxer of all time. He fought 61 bouts in 21 years, winning 56 times, 37 times by KO. He was an Olympic Gold Medalist in 1960 and was the heavyweight champion of the world 1964-1967, 1974-1978, 1978-1979. He was also the most controversial athlete of his time.   He knew he was the greatest, saying: “I am the greatest, I said that even before I knew I was” He could talk down any opponent, saying things like: “I’m so fast that last night IRead More

Posted On January 1, 2014By Oliver RistowIn Sports, Sports Takes

Wild Card Weekend Playoff Preview

          AFC STANDINGS                              NFC STANDINGS DENVER BRONCOS (13-3)                       1.  SEATTLE SEAHAWKS (13-3) NEW ENGLAND PATRIOTS (12-4)      2.  CAROLINA PANTHERS (12-4) CINCINNATI BENGALS (11-5)                3.  PHILADELPHIA EAGLES (10-6) INDIANAPOLIS COLTS (11-5)                 4.  GREEN BAY PACKERS (8-7-1) KANSAS CITY CHIEFS (11-5)                  5.  SAN FRANCISCO 49ERS (12-4) SAN DIEGO CHARGERS (9-7)    Read More